Racine man charged with 34 counts in crime spree

RACINE -- 33-year-old Charles Phillips is charged with 34 criminal counts in an alleged spree that lasted nearly three weeks.

Phillips is accused of stealing at least four cars, breaking into several more and using stolen credit cards to rack up charges all over Racine County. "Stolen credit cards, if he got them, he used them," Lt. Scott Geyer with the Mt. Pleasant Police Department said.

Police say the crime spree started sometime in early January.  The criminal complaint in the case outlines reports of stolen cars and items stolen inside of cars from Racine to Mt. Pleasant and Caledonia.  Jeff Treu had $400 and his medications taken out of his truck on Sunday, February 12th.  "You'd think your own car would be safe in your own driveway, but obviously, it's not," Treu said.

Phillips was taken into custody on February 16th when Racine police officers recognized a stolen vehicle and recognized Phillips in the backseat, from surveillance video.  Caledonia police say about 14 more charges could still be coming.

The complaint against Phillips includes the following charges:

The charging documents show Phillips started committing his crimes on January 29th and they lasted through February 16th, when authorities caught up to him.